Vita Abundantior magazine – No. 6

Vita Abundantior – The Magazine of Randolph College – No. 6 – Spring 2019

Vita Abundantior magazine cover No. 6 Spring 2019

Vita Abundantior – The Magazine of Randolph College Spring 2019 – Number 6 Contents:... READ MORE >>

Step by step: New student group wowing audiences with talent and dedication

The Randolph College Step Team debuted at the men's basketball team's home opener in November

During the halftime show at the season opener for the women’s basketball team, a group of students raced out onto the court. As they began their carefully choreographed step routine, the energy level in the gym ramped up, with the amazed crowd responding with cheers and applause. That debut performance was just the beginning for... READ MORE >>

Renovating RAD: Major upgrade of athletics facility will offer significant improvement for student life

An artistic rendering by Architectural Partners of the newly renovated RAD Center, which will be renamed the Michels Athletic Center (MAC).

Thanks in large part to the generosity of two supportive donors, Randolph will begin a nearly $3 million renovation to its Randolph Athletics and Dance (RAD) Center beginning later this spring. The significant enhancement and improvement of the building, which was originally built in 1962, was made possible by two leadership gifts. One of those... READ MORE >>

Capitol venture: Randolph grad lands role with 2020 presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Cory Booker

Rashan Colbert works in the U.S. Capitol as a research aide for U.S. Sen. Cory Booker

The son of a career Air Force officer, Rashan Colbert ’11 has always aspired to serve his country. After graduating from Randolph, he contemplated joining the military or U.S. Foreign Service, among many other career fields. Ultimately, he followed the advice of his sister, Surayyah Colbert ’03, to take an unpaid internship with U.S. Rep.... READ MORE >>

Lift every voice: New initiative exposes Randolph students to underrepresented musical artists

Katherine Jolly, winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Grand Finals, and music professor Emily Yap Chua performed a song cycle by African-American composer Evan Williams at Randolph

Music professor Emily Yap Chua believes every musical work is a manifestation of the composer’s lived experiences. That’s why she teaches her students about the well-known artists throughout history, such as Bach and Beethoven, but also about current-day composers from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. “It’s not just about the book study of... READ MORE >>

Coming home: Randolph couple begins next chapter of their love story with return to Lynchburg

Aaron and Megan Humphreys and their daughter, Jacqueline, at their home in Lynchburg

It was a Tuesday in November 2011, and Aaron Humphreys ’11 had the perfect plan. He would wait on the bench by the Sundial for one of his girlfriend’s friends to send her outside their room in Wright Hall at the designated time. “The Sundial,” he said, “is a staple on campus. It’s the first... READ MORE >>

Take Center Stage: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe offers students opportunity to learn from theatre professionals

Three cast members act in a scene

Two nights before the opening for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Liz Beamon ’20 struggled to get into character as Aslan. Even though she and the rest of the actors and stage crew had rehearsed and prepared for the show for nearly two months, she was still having trouble visualizing the finished product.... READ MORE >>

Information Upgrade: Elizabeth Cole Schlackman '03 helping turn libraries from 'storehouses to bridges'

Elizabeth Cole Schlackman is the collection development librarian for Montgomery College

When she was little, Elizabeth Cole Schlackman ’03 learned to love libraries from her librarian mother. “She raised us to be regular readers and regular users of libraries,” she said. Schlackman was an aide in high school and worked as an assistant in the library at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. Both she and her twin sister,... READ MORE >>

Why I give: A Q&A with John and Margie Roberts Johnson '59

Margie Roberts Johnson and her husband John

Tell us about your lives today. John and I moved to a retirement community near Roanoke, Virginia, about a year ago. Our daughter and her family live nearby, and our son and family live in Nashville. I enjoyed a career as an Episcopal church choirmaster-organist in Morristown, Tennessee; that work began as I majored in... READ MORE >>